Pin-socket connector



J-J.RED$LOB ETAL PIN-SOCKET CONNECTOR Nov. 14, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 23, 1959 Nov. 14, 1961 J. J. REDSLOB ETAL PIN-SOCKET CONNECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 23, 1959 United States Patent Ofiice 3,009,130 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 3,009,130 PIN-SOCKET CONNECTOR Jean Jacques Redslob and Harry J. Van Kuyk, Harrisburg, and John A. Zimmerman, Hershey, Pa., assignors to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed Mar. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 801,230 2 Claims. (Cl. 339-176) This invention relates to disengageable electrical connectors of the pin-socket type.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved pin-socket electrical connection by means of which an electrically conductive and mechanically secure connection is established between wires in a relatively small space. A further object is to provide a pin-socket set of connectors in which both the pin and the socket can be removably mounted or positioned in insulating blocks and in which the two blocks are duplicates of each other. A further object is to provide an electrical connection between wires which is sealed from the atmosphere and against the admission of moisture.

These and other objects are achieved in a preferred embodiment comprising a socket member which is axially bored to receive a mating pin and which is slotted for at least a portion of its length. A resilient finger is normally biased into the slot and upon insertion of the pin is resiliently stressed so that it presses against the pin 'to retain it within the socket to establish electrical contact between the pin and the sidewalls of the socket. By virtue of an improved construction and arrangement of mounting this resilient finger, it is possible in the practice of the invention to use a relatively stiff spring steel and thereby to achieve a highly conductive and mechanically sound disengageable pin-socket connection on a relatively short pin and socket length. In other words, by virtue of certain improvements in the construction of the socket, it is possible to achieve a relatively short disengageable electrical connection between two wires without sacrifice of mechanical or electrical properties. A further feature of the invention is that the socket is of the same length as the shank portion of the pin member so that duplicate mating blocks can be used to accommodate both pins and sockets.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a pin and socket in accordance with the invention mounted within insulating blocks and in engagement with each other;

FIGURE 3' is a fragmentary view showing the end of a pin in a block and illustrating the method by which the pin can be removed from the block;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing a further step in the removal of a pin from an insulating block;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a sealing grommet which forms part of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a pair of insulating blocks clamped to each other by means of metallic hous ings and illustrating the manner in which a plurality of disengageable connections can be formed between wires and sealed.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a receptacle or socket 2 and a pin member generally indicated at 4. Socket 2 has a rearward end 6 which receives the stripped end S of a Wire W and is secured there to by any convenient means, for example by crimping as shown in FIGURE 2. Intermediate its ends this socket member has a collar 8, a reduced diameter portion 10 spaced from the collar, and a slot 12 which extends axially adjacent the open end of the socket. This slot may be milled or otherwise formed and in the disclosed embodiment provides two flat coplanar faces 12 which border the axial bore of the socket. The open end is shouldered as indicated at 14 and has a collar 15 adjacent the shoulder. A ferrule or clip 18 resiliently embraces the reduced diameter section 10 of the socket and has a finger 20 extending therefrom which, when assembled, slopes downwardly towards and into the slots so that its underside rests upon the faces 12 of the slot. Advantageously, this clip and finger are formed from a stainless steel or the like which is highly' elastic (i.e. has a relatively high module of elasticity and a relatively high yield point). The cylindrical clip portion 18 does not extend entirely around the reduced diameter section 10 of the receptacle but advantageously should extend through an angle of no more than about 210 and is assembled thereto by a snap fit, that is by pressing the open side of the clip against the reduced diameter sec tion and flexing the clip outwardly until it snaps in place The clip is retained in position by means of a sleeve 22 which is axially assembled as indicated by the arrow until it is over the clip portion and is then staked or otherwise deformed to secure it in place. The sleeve 22 would have a relatively tight fit around the ferrule 18 so that it will prevent wobbling of this clip and retain it in relatively close and even engagement with the reduced diameter section of the socket. The shouldered end 14 of the receptacle has assembled thereto a retainer spring comprising a ferrule 24 which is inwardly curled at its end 26 and staked or otherwise secured as indicated at 27 to this end. Rearwardly' extending barbs 28 are evenly spaced around the end of this ferrule and function to retain the receptacle in a block as explained below.

The pin member 4 has an open wire receiving end 30, a collar 32, and intermediate section 34 which is of uniform diameter. The end 36 is of reduced diameter and of the same diameter as the portion 16 of the receptacle. Adjacent its end, this pin portion is shouldered as at 39 to receive a retainer 42 having barbs 44 extending therefrom which retainer is similar to retainer 24. The pin itself 40 extends from the end of the shank of this member and is of a length such that it will extend substantially into the hollow end of the receptacle.

In use, and after the parts have been assembled, the pin and receptacle are inserted separately into blocks 48, 50 shown in FIGURE 2. These blocks may provide a plurality of similar openings each of which has an enlarged open forward end 52, a reduced diameter central section 50, and an enlarged opposite end 54. The rearward open ends are, if necessary, further enlarged at 56 to permit reception of a rubber grommet 58 for sealing purposes. It will be apparent from FIGURE 2 that the pin and socket can be axially inserted into the blocks to cam the barbs 28 and 44 inwardly until the pin or socket is inserted beyond the shoulder separating the enlarged open end 52 from the central sections 50 of the bores. The barbs will then spring outwardly and engage the shoulder formed between these two portions of the openings and hold the part securely in place. The grommets 56 are then slightly compressed and forced into the enlarged rear ends of the openings to provide a seal for each of the pin-socket pairs in a connector block. While neither the pin nor the socket can be removed from its block by axially pulling upon the wire, either member can be removed by the use of a tubular tool 59 as shown in FIGURE 3. It is merely necessary to insert this tool and cam the barbs inwardly to permit them to pass into the reduced diameter center section 50 of the openings. Thus it is possible to replace any dam- 3 aged connectors in a set of blocks which contain a battery of pins and sockets of the instant type.

A salient advantage of the invention is that only one type of block is needed for the pin and socket. This advantage is achieved by virtue of the fact that the socket is of a length equal to that portion of the pin which extends from the wire receiving end up to the axial pin contact portion 40. In the past, it has been common to design dissimilar blocks for the pin and socket and this was necesssary in part because the pin and socket were of different lengths so that one of the elements would not fit into a block designed for the other. A further advantage is that with the present invention, the use of an extremely strong and highly resilient spring steel is permitted. The feature stems from the fact that the clip is not permanently deformed (i.e. bent) during assembly but is only elastically deformed as it is snapped over the socket. Hence, the spring can be of a material which is highly resilient and strong such as a stainless steel. It would not be possible to assemble a material of this type to the socket member by permanently deforming the sides of the clip as has been suggested in the prior art. The resulting advantage of using an extremely springy material for the clip is that the length of the finger 20 can be appreciably shortened without reducing the amount of pressure it imposes upon the pin as compared to prior art devices having relatively long spring fingers. As a result the overall length of the disengageable connection is substantially reduced. This factor is of some importance particularly where the invention is employed disengageably to connect relatively small wires, for example, A.W.G. 22-24.

FIGURE 6 shows a preferred arrangement for disengageably connecting a pair of blocks 48 each containing a plurality of axially aligned openings for pins and sockets in accordance with the invention. According to this arrangement, the blocks 48 are mounted within metallic casings 60, 62 which have overlapping and interfitting flanges 64, 66. An L-shaped gasket 68 is interposed between the end of flange 66 in the base of flange 64 so that as the housings are pressed together, this gasket is compressed to establish a seal around the central section of the two dielectric housings. Additional sealing is achieved by means of gaskets 70 interposed between flanges 72 which extend from the blocks 48 and shoulder portions of the housings into which the flanges 72 project. The dielectric housings 48 are secured to their respective metallic casings 60, 62 by means of clamping bars 73 and machine screws 74. When these machine screws are tightened the gaskets 70 and 68 are compressed to establish the peripheral seal at the ends of the dielectric blocks. The two metallic casings in turn may be clamped together by means of bolts or the like which extend through aligned cars 76. In use, one of these blocks will frequently be secured to a bulkhead or the like and the other one will be removable from the anchored block. Advantageously, additional sealing gaskets 80 are provided at the meeting faces at the two dielectric blocks so that as the assembly is secured together, these gaskets will be compressed to provide additional sealing between adjacent aligned openings in which the pin-sockets are contained. The individual openings are sealed by means of the sealing grommets 58 previously described.

We claim:

1. A disengageable electrical connector adapted to receive a cylindrical pin comprising a cylindrical socket having means at one end for attachment to an electrical conductor, an axial bore extending inwardly from the opposite end and adapted to receive said pin, a slot in said socket intermediate its ends and opening into said bore, a collar partially surrounding said socket intermediate its ends and in resilient embracing relationship therewith, a retaining sleeve surrounding said collar, a finger extending from said collar along said slot and resiliently biased into said slot whereby said pin, upon insertion, resiliently biases said finger outwardly and said pin is pressed against the internal walls of said bore by said finger, a second collar secured to said socket at the pinreceiving end thereof, and retaining barbs extending from said second collar towards the opposite end of said socket.

2. Disengageable electrical connecting means for connecting a plurality of pairs of electrical conductors comprising, a pair of duplicate insulating blocks disposed in face to face relationship and each having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, each aperture having a reduced diameter center section and an enlarged end section opening into the faces of said blocks, pin members disposed in at least some of said apertures in at least one of said blocks, each pin member having a contact pin extending beyond its block and having a collar in surrounding relationship thereto intermediate its ends and disposed within said enlarged end section, retaining barbs on said collar resiliently biased against the sidewalls of said aperture and preventing withdrawals of said pin, socket members in others of said apertures, said socket members having first retaining collars secured thereto and disposed within said enlarged sections to prevent withdrawal thereof, and each projecting pin member being received within one of said socket members, each of said socket members having a longitudinal slot intermediate the ends thereof, a second collar on each of said socket members intermediate the ends thereof and in resilient embracing relationship therewith, a retaining sleeve on each of said socket members surrounding the said second collar thereon, and a finger extending from said second collar along said slot, said finger being resiliently biased outwardly by the pin received in the socket thereby to urge said pin against the internal Walls of said socket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,411,861 Antony et al. Dec. 3, 1946 2,419,018 Gudie Apr. 15, 1947 2,440,279 Larkins Apr. 27, 1948 2,469,397 Mezek May 10, 1949 2,477,849 Adams Aug. 2, 1949 2,633,482 De Tar Mar. 31, 1953 2,688,123 Benham et al. Aug. 31, 1954 2,715,215 Flora Aug. 9, 1955 2,716,744 Swanson Aug. 30, 1955 

